Extended attack not attended by police despite police station next door

Paris is 'like a warzone,’ a witness told MailOnline who said he was terrified

A young woman screamed helplessly as she was set upon by a violent gang in the centre of tourist Paris today.

She was repeatedly punched and kicked in the head and upper body as around 15 mainly men surrounded her, knocking her to the ground.

The terrifying attack, which was captured on video, took place within sight of Notre Dame Cathedral, and less than half-a-mile from the Louvre museum.

Police were nowhere to be seen, as the savagery continued until the early hours of this morning, with others reporting muggings and gratuitous assaults.

Another video obtained by Mail Online shows a man who was knocked unconscious by another gang staggering away from the scene of the crime with a head wound.

This is despite France officially being under a ‘State of Emergency’ following the terrorist attacks in which up to 150 people were murdered in Paris last year.

The arrival of thousands of football fans, including many from the UK, as well as ‘ultra’ hooligans from countries like Russia for Euro 2016 is also meant to have improved security.’

But this did not stop the marauding mobs carrying out their assaults unchallenged.

‘It’s one of the most terrifying situations I’ve ever experienced in my life,’ said a 42-year-old Englishman who asked not to be identified by name.

At around 1am the woman (circled) and a group of friends were walking in front of an entrance to Chatelet Metro Station, when the violence exploded around them.

A crowd of some 1,000 people congregated outside a Caribbean restaurant, where giant speakers and a small stage were set up, but the atmosphere soon turned ugly.

‘Gangs of youths had the freedom of the streets to attack and steal from anyone they wanted. Paris is no longer a safe tourist city – it’s like a warzone.’

It all took place during the 35th annual ‘Fete de la Musique’ (Music Party), an event that is meant to be celebration of the arts, with hundreds of thousands taking to the street.

Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist mayor of Paris, and President Francois Hollande are among those who regularly show off the event as a ‘celebration of Paris life’.

Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister, even said this year’s Party was ‘the best response to terrorism’, arguing that people should go out and enjoy themselves, in defiance of threats of violence.

The annual music party is supposed to be a celebration of the art as hundreds of thousands take to the streets. Above a man in a white T-shirt and black backpack tries to help those caught up in the trouble.

But the attack on the woman – who has not been identified – paints a very different picture.

She was with a group of friends who attended a rap gig on a street close to Rue de Rivoli, the equivalent of London’s Oxford Street in Paris.

But trouble started almost immediately, when a man was set upon by a gang early in the evening, and knocked unconscious.

Video shows him being helped up by other members of the crowd, before he staggers away with a head wound.